Bordeaux Red Wine - Canon Fronsac

Canon Fronsac has been renowned for its wines for centuries – the very first Bordeaux wine to appear in a Christie's catalogue in 1780 refers to "a hogshead of Canon Claret" and the wines were popular at the Court of Versailles. In 1783 the entire output of the Château Canon was reserved for the court of the Dauphin at Versailles. However wine making in this little appellation stretches back much further.
There are some who claim that Fronsac was the first vineyard in Bordeaux. The vineyards descend down from the limestone bluff, the Tertre de Fronsac and from prehistoric times the region was inhabited. The Gauls had an Oppidum (a Celtic fortified town) on the Tertre and later the Romans built several villas and a temple there. Today, the ruins of Château de Fronsac stand at the summit.


Smaller than Fronsac, the Canon Fronsac Appellation occupies higher and steeper terrain. The resulting wines are stronger and more substantial. Fronsac and Canon Fronsac sit side by side with Saint Emilion and Pomerol and are bordered by the Rivers Isle and Dordogne. The land is irrigated by a series of small streams reaching down to feed the rivers.


Canon Fronsac consists of two communes - Saint Michel de Fronsac and Fronsac. There are the remains of an ancient necropolis under the church of Saint Michel. Saint Michel, by the way is named for the Archangel Michael who was usually honoured on mountain tops and high places – the Tertre falls into this category. Michael is also the patron of mariners and many legends attribute him drawing springs forth from the rock (Egyptian Christians placed their life giving river, the Nile, under his protection and Mont Saint Michel in Normandy is a world famous sanctuary dedicated to him).

More than 12 centuries ago, the Emperor Charlemagne commanded a fortress to be built in 769 to control the neighbouring area and to defend the Libournais against marauding pirates. It was built on the ruins of the temple on the Tertre. For three centuries, Fronsac remained an important stronghold around which the culture of the vine has continued. The site was known as Fransiacus – the Château of the Francs – and it's also how Fronsac got it's name! This fortress on the Tertre de Fronsac was the most powerful in Western France and was the headquarters of the military district of the West. The Emperor made his son, Louis, King of Aquitania, and made Louis' brother of the Seigneur de Forsath, Viscount de Fronsac in 825 AD.


The Franks were an army of knights and nobles of different European races confederated together although the greater number of them were of Germanic origin. Sentiment rather than kinship was the basis of their organization and the name Frank meant 'free" — not in the modern sense of free but in the ancient sense - in other words, they recognized no lords as their superiors.
Charlemagne was so fond of the red wine from his fine Corton vineyards in Burgundy that, in his enthusiasm, he would sometimes spill it, colouring his noble beard. His wife felt the stains were hardly appropriate for her husband, the Holy Roman Emperor. To silence her complaints, he ordered some of the red-wine vines of Corton uprooted and replaced with white.

He ordered that crushing of wine grapes no longer be done with the feet, but that a mechanical screw press be used. Likewise, wine was no longer to be stored in skins, but in wooden kegs instead. Charlemagne also introduced the securing of the wine barrels with metal hoops for transport. Viticulture became so successful during Charlemagne's reign that there was an excess of wine. Thus, "banvin" had to be imposed, which meant none of the tenants could sell their wine until the lord had sold his own. The ultimate indication of his affection for the vine occurred when he renamed the months of the year in his own language. October became "windume-monath" that is, the month of the wine harvest.


In 1623, Charlemagne's fortified castle was razed and 10 years later, the great Cardinal de Richelieu bought the land – and the title of Duke of Fronsac – for the children of his younger sister. Richelieu classed the wines of Canon Fronsac wines amongst his favourites and introduced them to the court of the King of France. His nephew - Louis François Armand du Plessis, Duc de Richelieu and of Fronsac, Governor of Guyenne and Gascony, Marshal of France - and libertine - took the opportunity to promote the production of Canon Fronsac's vineyards at Versailles and at parties that he gave in the small château he had constructed on the Tertre.


If you are wondering where the name “Canon” comes from it may be due to the fact that ships anchored on the Dordogne upstream of St. Michel de Fronsac in the 1600s used the western flank of the Fronsac hill as a landmark to fire salvoes into the marshes, the only area at the time which was not given over to cultivation. The aim of these trials was to test the ballistics and power of the ships' canons. It was even possible to measure their range, by observing where the canon balls fell into the marsh.


Over the last 100 years, the winegrowers of Canon Fronsac have changed the types of vines planted - Malbec used to be planted on the hills but when it was proven scientifically that Merlot was better suited to these clay limestone soils, the producers adopted it (70% of vines planted). Canon-Fronsac wines have a dark ruby colour with purplish hints, which turns garnet with age. They have a concentrated nose, with notes of raspberry, strawberry, red currents that develop into stewed prunes, leather, and mocha with time.

Wines from this area are less well known than their famous neighbours but their wines are excellent and undervalued so you can buy wines that are made with great care but don’t cost a fortune. Several of the Canon Fronsac châteaux are owned by the Moueix family, who also own Château Pétrus. Châteaux Canon, Canon de Brem, Lafleur and La Vieille Cure are just a few of the properties in the area whose wines are worth getting to know.


If you'd like to try a Canon Fronsac wine I would recommend Château Toumalin (£9.29) which is a classic. It is a small estate of only 8 hectares and is owned by Paul-Bernard d' Arfeuille. Château Toumalin is gorgeous, shining, deep ruby crimson colour, has aromas of black fruit enhanced by a note of blueberry and with hints of roasted wood. It is fine, strong and ageable and gives an ample, full, sensation on the palate with refined tannins. The well balanced finish is pleasantly long-lasting and silky.